Bernie Sanders pauses campaign after treatment for chest pain

NEW YORK - Bernie Sanders put his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on hold Wednesday after being treated for a blocked artery, becoming the first in a race dominated by septuagenarians to halt their campaign for health reasons.

At 78, the leftist senator from Vermont is the oldest candidate vying to take on President Donald Trump in 2020 and one of the leading contenders behind favorites Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren.

Sanders' team said he was canceling events and appearances "until further notice" after complaining of chest pains while on the stump in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday.

Sanders later wrote on Twitter that he was "feeling good."

"During a campaign event yesterday evening Sen. Sanders experienced some chest discomfort," Sanders' senior advisor Jeff Weaver said in a statement.

"Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted."

He added that the senator was talking and in good spirits, and would be resting over the "next few days."

Sanders -- a self-described Democratic socialist -- pushed 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton right to the wire three years ago and is sitting third in the polls this time around.

He was one of the first to argue loudly for taxing the rich and for the introduction of universal health care, policies now embraced by some of the other candidates.

His Democratic rivals rushed to wish Sanders a swift recovery.

"Anyone who knows Bernie understands what a force he is. We are confident that he will have a full and speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on the trail soon," tweeted Democratic frontrunner Biden.

Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, tweeted that she hoped "to see my friend back on the campaign trail very soon," while Kamala Harris said she was "thinking" of Sanders.

Sanders thanked well wishers and used the opportunity to trumpet one of his key election pledges.

"I'm fortunate to have good health care and great doctors and nurses helping me to recover," he tweeted.

"None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs. Medicare for All!"

Sanders has served in Congress as an independent aligned with Democrats since 1991, first as a representative of Vermont and then, since 2007, as the state's junior senator.

'Crazy hard'

Earlier this year he was running consistently in second place behind former vice president Biden, who is two years younger, in the race for the Democratic Party nomination for president.

Since July, he has jockeyed for position with Warren, who recently moved slightly ahead of him in polls in the crowded field.

Both Sanders' and Biden's age has been raised as an issue in their candidacies. Trump is 73, while Warren is 70.

Sanders' health has generally been good for his age, however, and it has been Biden who has had to bat away questions about his stamina and mental sharpness.

In March, Sanders gashed his head on a shower door and had seven stitches, but quickly returned to the campaign trail.

Last month, he canceled three events in South Carolina to rest his voice, which had become hoarse.

Sanders sounded raspy during the third Democratic debate and his campaign said it was because of a "vigorous campaign schedule."

New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sanders' hospitalization highlighted the rigors of running for office.

"A lot of people don't understand how crazy hard grassroots campaigning is -- for organizers and candidates alike. Rest up, friend. We're with you!" she wrote on Twitter.

Sanders faces a long and bruising battle ahead, with the first Democratic primaries not taking place until February.

He is currently third in an average of national polls, with 16.7 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.

Biden leads at 26.1 percent, with Warren second with 24.4 percent.

It was not immediately clear whether Sanders would be fit to appear in the fourth Democratic debate scheduled for October 15 in Ohio.

Trump, who likes to tout his own health, famously mocked Clinton when she became ill during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in 2016.

The president did not immediately comment on Sanders' announcement.

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Clinton diagnosed with pneumonia, 'dehydrated' at 9/11 event

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is suffering from pneumonia and was overheated and dehydrated when she quickly left a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on Sunday, her doctor said.

The incident at Ground Zero, in which the 68-year-old Clinton seemed to lose her footing as she was helped into her vehicle, sparked new questions about her health -- and offered Donald Trump a new opening to attack his White House rival.

Clinton had been seeking to bounce back from a campaign blunder Friday, when she told donors that half of Trump's supporters belonged in a "basket of deplorables" -- so Sunday's episode was certainly ill-timed.

The former secretary of state spent 90 minutes at the high-profile ceremony in lower Manhattan, greeting some family members of those killed in the deadly terror strikes 15 years ago, her campaign said in a statement.

"During the ceremony, she felt overheated so departed to go to her daughter's apartment, and is feeling much better," it added.

Later, the campaign released a fresh statement from her personal doctor, Lisa Bardack, who revealed that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia and was suffering from dehydration.

"Secretary Clinton has been experiencing a cough related to allergies. On Friday, during follow-up evaluation of her prolonged cough, she was diagnosed with pneumonia," Bardack said.

"She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning's event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely."

A campaign aide said Clinton had been examined at her home in Chappaqua, New York, after she was forced to leave Ground Zero.

- Stumble -

A video posted on Twitter showed Clinton seeming unsteady as she waited to get into a black van to leave the emotional 9/11 service.

She appeared to stumble as she was helped into the vehicle, and had to be held up on either side by members of her entourage.

It was a humid day in New York, with temperatures around 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius).

"I didn't see anything unusual. What I can tell you is that many of us (had) a sigh of relief when a gust of wind would come by because it was incredibly stifling," Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley, who stood near Clinton for about an hour at the ceremony, told MSNBC.

Clinton appeared better as she walked out of her daughter Chelsea's home a few hours later, smiling for the media and posing for pictures with a young girl before departing for Chappaqua.

"I'm feeling great, it's a beautiful day in New York," Clinton said.

But a senior campaign aide said a planned fundraising trip to California on Monday was "currently in discussion."

- Health issues? -

Trump -- who also attended the 9/11 ceremony -- was uncharacteristically silent on Twitter about Clinton's illness, as both candidates took a break from formal campaigning to mark the somber day of remembrance.

But the businessman, his spokespeople and surrogates have promoted the idea in recent weeks that Clinton has serious health problems.

The internet is awash with claims that she may have a brain tumor, Parkinson's or dementia.

Trump, 70, has said Clinton is "not strong enough to be president" and that she "lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS."

The root of the claims lies in 2012, when Clinton was nearing the end of her stint as secretary of state. A stomach virus and dehydration prompted her to faint, causing what her doctor said was a concussion.

They said they found a blood clot on the brain and Clinton temporarily suffered from double vision. She was later given the all-clear.

The former first lady has dismissed "conspiracy theories" about her health and pointed to a letter from her doctor declaring her fit to serve as president.

- 'Vitality and viability' -

Clinton's illness is unlikely to be a turning point in the White House race, said Jennifer Lawless, a professor of government at American University in Washington.

"What the Clinton campaign needs to do over the course of the next several days is demonstrate her vitality and viability. She has to be at tons of events and seem very energetic," Lawless told AFP.

Larry Sabato, a veteran political scientist at the University of Virginia, said Clinton's team needs to release a full health record to put the story to rest.

"We really haven't gotten very much, essentially a letter from her doctor," he told CNN, but added that Trump should be held to the same requirement.

Clinton's illness struck after she told a crowd at a fundraiser late Friday that "to be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables."

"The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic -- you name it."

Trump and his supporters slammed the remarks. Clinton said she regretted saying "half," but then listed a number of "deplorable" things about Trump.

"I won't stop calling out bigotry and racist rhetoric in this campaign," she said.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll out Sunday -- conducted in the days before she made the remark -- shows Clinton leading Trump 46 percent to 41 percent among likely voters, with a 4.5 percentage-point margin of error.

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Bernie gets mobbed by media in Rome, but no pope meeting

ROME, Italy -- He came (to Rome), he saw (the inside of the Vatican but not Pope Francis) and he conquered (the few dozen students and expats who turned out to see him).

In the process, Bernie Sanders got very nearly trampled by a Roman media scrum.

And with Pope Francis opting not to spend any time in the company of the Vermont senator, aides must have been wondering if the 8,500-mile roundtrip and two days out of the race to be the Democrat presidential candidate were worth it.

Sanders did have a few relaxed moments in the spring sunshine on Friday, strolling through the Vatican's Perugino gate to greet a group of around 30 American expatriates and students brandishing "Go Bernie" and "Feel the Bern" placards.

The relaxed meet and greet lasted only seconds however before a swarm of international media engulfed the democratic socialist.

Flustered, flushed and looking all of his 74 years, Sanders stumbled at one point and briefly looked as if he might fall to the Roman cobblestones.

"Can we get everyone back behind the barriers," one of the security team frantically shouted, before adding, more forlornly, "Could someone say that in Italian."

Having recovered his balance, Sanders shoved forward and regained his focus. "Are there any American reporters here?" he asked.

The rolling maul of cameras, microphones and sweaty hacks never made it back behind the barricades, so Bernie opted to deliver his explanation of what he was doing here from the middle of it.

He said he had come to Rome out of respect for Francis's positions on the global economy and the environment -- "historic and incredible" positions the pontiff happens to share with a certain Brooklyn native.

- 'Could not refuse invite' -

"What the pope is saying is that we cannot continue to go forward when so few have so much and when greed is such a destructive force, not only in the United States of course but around this world," Sanders said.

And he said Francis's intervention in the climate change debate had been a game changer.

"So when I received this invitation, and I know it's taking me away from the campaign trail for a day, it was so moving to me that it was simply something I could not refuse to attend."

Sanders had flown to Rome at the invitation of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, a kind of Vatican think-tank on social, economic and environmental issues, for a Friday conference.

Some political commentators have suggested he was looking for a boost to his ratings among US Catholics with a trip that could be spun as an indication of Vatican endorsement.

Although the papal spokesman had made it clear earlier in the week there was no prospect of a personal audience with Francis, the pontiff would normally have turned out to greet all of the attendees at such a high-profile seminar.

On this occasion however he sent a letter of apology, citing his need to prepare for Saturday's trip to Lesbos.

Sanders was unlikely to get a warm greeting from two other attendees of the Vatican-hosted meeting -- Ecuador's President Rafael Correa and Bolivian President Evo Morales -- both known for being hostile to US interference in Latin America.

The 79-year-old pontiff will have an early start with a 7am flight to catch to the Greek island at the centre of Europe's migrant crisis.

Sanders may or may not have been disappointed with the papal no-show but American expatriates Linda Lauretta and Chelsie Nieman were delighted to have seen him in the flesh.

"We have been here since 9.30am this morning. We weren't sure where he was going to be but luckily one of the Swiss guards took pity on us and told us to come here," said Lauretta, an English teacher from New York state.

"I think a lot of Americans living outside of the US back Bernie because they have experienced different types of society and they can see them working."

Nieman, a graphic designer from Atlanta, added: "I've just been really impressed with everything that he stands for."

Immunity granted to Clinton staffer who set up server: report

WASHINGTON, United States - Hillary Clinton's former staffer who helped set up the controversial private email server she used while secretary of state has been granted immunity in a criminal investigation into the affair, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The US Department of Justice granted immunity to Bryan Pagliano, who set up the server in 2009 and is now cooperating with the FBI, the Post said, citing a senior law enforcement official.

Pagliano, who worked on Clinton's presidential campaign in 2008, had previously invoked his constitutional right to silence when asked to answer questions about the matter before a US House Committee in September.

Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner in the 2016 US presidential election, took a big leap toward clinching her party's nomination Tuesday during primaries across 11 states, in which she racked up seven wins, trouncing rival Bernie Sanders.

Clinton snagged those states and has gained recent momentum despite the cloud of the email scandal still looming over her campaign. When it emerged last year that she had used a private server and non-official address for all her email while in her former post as secretary of state, her Republican rivals cried foul.

This, they said, suggested she may have been illegally covering something up.

But Clinton maintained that none of her emails had been marked "classified" when she sent them and, after her own lawyers had removed mails they deemed purely personal, she submitted a 52,000-page document dump to the State Department.

Officials will likely want to interview Clinton and her senior aides about the server when the FBI concludes its probe in several months, the Post said, citing current and former officials.

The State Department has been making the official emails public chunk by chunk, and released the final batch on Monday.

The email scandal is one of the few major hitches in Clinton's otherwise very promising campaign to become the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

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Clinton deflects Republican criticism in marathon Benghazi hearing

* Clinton calls accusations on security "personally painful"

* No new revelations by Clinton, 2016 Democratic front-runner

* Rep. Cummings calls panel a "taxpayer-funded fishing expedition"

* Chairman Gowdy says investigation not about Clinton

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton passed a tough political test on Thursday, calmly deflecting harsh Republican criticism of her handling of the deadly 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, during a testy 11-hour hearing in Congress.

In testimony that stretched deep into the night, the former secretary of state rejected Republican accusations that she ignored requests for security upgrades in Libya and misinformed the public about the cause of the attack by suspected Islamist militants that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi.

Clinton, 67, stayed out of the political fray during several heated arguments between Republicans and her Democratic allies and remained composed under aggressive questioning from Republican lawmakers.

The long hearing uncovered no new revelations in a deadly incident that has been the subject of a half-dozen other congressional investigations and an independent inquiry.

Clinton said it was "personally painful" to be accused of ignoring security upgrades that could have saved the life of ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at the diplomatic compound.

"I've thought more about what happened than all of you put together," she told the Republican-led special panel. "I've lost more sleep than all of you put together. I've been racking my brain about what could have been done, should have been done."

The appearance before the Benghazi panel was a critical hurdle for Clinton, who has been on a hot streak since turning in a strong performance at last week's first Democratic debate and after Wednesday's news that her strongest potential challenger, Vice President Joe Biden, will not seek the Democratic nomination for the November 2016 election.

Even some Republicans said Republican lawmakers had swung at Clinton and missed with their aggressive questioning.

"They forget Secretary Clinton has been dealing with hostile committees longer than most of them have been in politics at any level," Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell said.

CLINTON: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURITY

Representative Trey Gowdy, chairman of the special panel, acknowledged to reporters afterward that Clinton's testimony was not significantly different than her previous testimony on the incident.

Clinton defended her leadership in Libya as America's top diplomat and denied longstanding Republican allegations that she personally turned down requests to beef up security in Benghazi.

"I was responsible for quite a lot," Clinton said. "I was not responsible for specific requests and security provisions."

Clinton told the panel the attacks must not discourage U.S. action globally and said the incident already had been thoroughly investigated.

"We need leadership at home to match our leadership abroad, leadership that puts national security ahead of politics and ideology," Clinton said in a veiled reference to the political controversy that has dogged the panel.

Opinion polls show Americans deeply split along partisan lines over the probe. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week found 35 percent of respondents viewed the Benghazi hearings as mostly or completely valid. The percentage among Republicans was 67 percent, independents 39.6 percent and Democrats 16.5 percent.

The panel has spent 17 months looking into the attacks at the U.S. mission compound. Clinton's long-awaited testimony was the most high-profile appearance yet before a committee that has already interviewed more than 50 witnesses.

At one point, Clinton impassively stacked papers while Gowdy and senior Democrat Elijah Cummings argued loudly over Cummings' request that the closed-door testimony of Clinton friend Sidney Blumenthal before the committee in June be publicly released.

Clinton listened intently, head in hand, as Gowdy heatedly questioned her about the constant emails she received from Blumenthal. Republicans noted that Stevens, the ambassador, did not even have Clinton's email address.

"You didn't need my email address to get my attention," Clinton said.

CUMMINGS WANTS END TO COMMITTEE

Cummings said congressional Republicans set up the panel for a partisan witch hunt.

"They set them loose, Madame Secretary, because you're running for president," he told Clinton, calling for an end to the "taxpayer-funded fishing expedition." He said the committee had spent $14.7 million of taxpayer money over 17 months.

"Your testimony has gone on longer than all our other hearings combined," Democratic Representative Adam Schiff told Clinton.

Republican Representative Jim Jordan said Clinton had misleadingly implied after the attack that it was a reaction to an anti-Muslim video. Clinton, who denies suggesting the video was the cause, said the accusation had been proven false by other investigations.

Clinton's appearance before the panel follows months of controversy about her use of a private home email server for her State Department work, a disclosure that emerged in part because of the Benghazi committee's demand last year to see her official records.

Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, has been on the defensive over a series of comments from his fellow Republicans implying the committee's real aim was to deflate Clinton's poll numbers.

"Madame Secretary, I understand some people - frankly in both parties - have suggested this investigation is about you. Let me assure you it is not," Gowdy told Clinton. "Not a single member of this committee signed up for an investigation into you or your email system."

Clinton said the emails being made public and examined by the committee did not encompass all of the work she did as secretary of state.

"I don't want you to have a mistaken impression about what I did and how I did it," she said. "Most of my work was not done on emails with my closest aides, with officials in the State Department, officials in the rest of the government."

She cited communications through secure phone calls, in-person conversations and top-secret documents.

A 2012 report by a government accountability review board sharply faulted State Department officials for providing "grossly" insufficient security in Benghazi, despite upgrade requests from Stevens and others in Libya. (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Alana Wise and Megan Cassella; Editing by Howard Goller and Leslie Adler)

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Clinton gets key union endorsement

Rival enjoys a groundswell of support

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday scored a key endorsement from a large teachers union at a time when her chief rival is picking up support from organized labor.

By backing Clinton, the American Federation of Teachers, which as the nation's second-largest education union represents 1.6 million members, became the first national union to endorse a 2016 candidate.

The endorsement comes just two days before Clinton delivers a speech about the economy that labor leaders will watch closely. Some of them have already expressed public support for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is also seeking the nomination.

"Hillary Clinton is a tested leader who shares our values, is supported by our members, and is prepared for a tough fight," AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement, citing Clinton's record as a former first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state.

Weingarten and Clinton are longtime friends and allies. The AFT endorsed Clinton in 2007 when organized labor split between supporting her or now-President Barack Obama.

Both Sanders and Clinton are set to meet with labor leaders this week as they court a crucial base of support for Democratic candidates.

Looming over the meetings is a Pacific Rim trade deal that the Obama administration is finalizing and which has drawn vociferous criticism from labor. The issue is a difficult one for Clinton, who was Obama's secretary of state and has remained largely silent about the agreement, which Sanders has consistently opposed.

Clinton's campaign released a statement saying she was honored to receive the AFT's endorsement.

"The men and women of AFT work throughout our communities in our preschools, K-12 schools, hospitals, colleges and universities, and public agencies," Clinton said in the statement. "Their voices and the voices of all workers are essential to this country."

Clinton also has a crucial meeting at the end of the month with the executive council of the AFL-CIO, an umbrella group for 56 unions, including the AFT.

The AFL-CIO has not said whether or when it will endorse a primary candidate. In 2008, when its member unions were split between Clinton and Obama, it backed Obama only when it became clear he was going to be the Democratic nominee.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has urged local and state federations to remain neutral as the process plays out.

(Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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